September 3, 2002
By Sheree Russouw
TOMMY Carlin looks admiringly at the old double-decker buses veering into Gandhi Square in Johannesburg's CBD. "It's so amazing that these buses have been going for 25 years. I don't think the new buses are going to last very long. They look more fragile than those old tanks," he says. "The new buses are so small and the seats are so hard. Gosh, you'll get haemorrhoids if you sit on them for too long."
Like Carlin, many of Johannesburg's bus commuters believe that the old buses are a distinct and vintage feature of the city. Barring the occasional breakdown and their often decrepit interiors, these buses have chugged on through many passengers' lifetimes.
But now there are new kids driving down the block - the city's gleaming silver 200-strong luxury bus fleet, the city's most visible revolution in public transport in 25 years. For the first time in recent memory, there seem to be buses everywhere. The silver fleet's arrival on the city's streets is drawing mixed reactions from the city's bus travellers. Some love their cleanness and smoothness; some feel nostalgic about the scruffier old ones.
"The new bus is so much more comfortable, though their structure and seats do look out of proportion. But I would still choose the new buses over the dirty old ones any day," says Samuel Conda, a medical student from Sierra Leone, travelling on the older-model bus on route 46 from Johannesburg Hospital to Rosettenville.
Thick layers of dust look like curtains on the windows of this bus, and the paint is flaking off the rusted seats. The seats are covered in graffiti and "For a good time phone David" is scrawled on one of the back seats in thick ink. At each stop the bus stutters and loudly screeches to a halt. Commuters pile up in the doorway, their arms full of groceries. They rush to any available seats as the bus is already becoming crowded.
"You know it's not okay to catch these old buses. They are so dirty," says nurse Florence Baloyi. She has not yet travelled on the new buses - she thought they were tour buses. But Loveness Mukwebu, a security officer, says that, old or new, the bus has got her ticket. "I've been on the new bus once. It's very comfortable and I feel safe. But I like travelling by bus and I'll get on any bus, a new one or an old one."
Her only gripe is that bus travel is expensive - it costs her R4.10 to get from the hospital to Rosettenville.
For others, bus travel is cheap. A Daveyton resident, who does not want to be named, is catching the bus for the first time - and she likes it. "The bus is nice. It is affordable and the seats are comfortable," she says surveying the interior. Unlike the new buses with their hard plastic seats, the cherry red benches of the old buses are soft - despite their dilapidated appearance.
In Eloff Street a bus driver, who does not want to be named, is waiting for delegates attending the World Summit on Sustainable Development to hop on his new bus to go to Sandton. Modern or outmoded, he insists that all the buses are the same - he is simply happy driving the bus. "Passengers just like the new buses because they're new. I have no problem with the old ones. They still ride the same, you know."
A visibly irate Ricky Painter is arguing with the driver, demanding to know why she cannot get on the bus. "My sister, let me tell you that they didn't bring these buses for us. They brought them for the summit. These buses are beautiful like luxury buses. But they're giving the delegates transport and are not worried about the poor working people. We are here every day, not just for two weeks."
However, local government councillor Rehana Moosajee says that the summit has improved the bus service considerably. "Metrobus has been very impressive for the summit. If they can operate as well as they've been doing in Sandton, it will be great and exciting for the city. I think the new buses are excellent, but I hope communities are looking after them - already I've seen kids writing graffiti on the seats.
But Henry van Staden, a pensioner, does not share her enthusiastic sentiments. "My God, I wait long for the buses to come. They are very few and far between. And so dirty - just to sit down you have to wipe all the dirt off your seat. The new bus is too narrow and there is no space to walk [between the seats]. They are speedier, but some drivers ride like hell - whether they offer a good service depends on the driver."
Anne, who does not want to reveal her full name, has been travelling by bus every day for the past 10 years. She watches as a new model bus swooshes past, and shakes her head. "The new buses are a bloody waste of money. They look beautiful but they are much too small. They only take about 79 people, while the old buses take about 110. They are not suitable for the amount of bus traffic in the city."
Anthony Friedman, who has opted for public transport because of the rising petrol price, agrees that new buses are too small. "I recommend the old buses, because while the new buses are beautiful they are much too small."
There is still hope for the old buses, Anne believes, if the buses can be repaired - and commuters learn to be cleaner. "I've seen cockroaches all over the bus. Once, a cockroach even crawled up my legs. It's because people eat food in the buses and just drop their banana peels and avocados on the floor.
"We travel with the buses, we know what's going on and it's hard for us. I'm not running them down, I'm telling the truth. But since the new buses have arrived, the attitudes of the drivers have changed. They are much nicer now," she says.
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